The US hide market ended the week with a large volume of trades. Steers, cows and bulls have received immense interest with prices moving anywhere from $1 to $4 higher on packer material. Many sellers are sold out of material, but buyers are still asking for bookings ASAP and spring orders. The order requests are also for very large volumes of containers. The bullish sentiment in the market is due to a number of factors such as COVID-19 cases settling, the economy opening back up, summer hides nearing, prices are believed to move further upwards, worldwide low supply and a weaker USD. There is some persistent bearish sentiment still revolving around container availability, laggard shoe business and risk of increased usage of alternative materials. With these factors considered, it is reasonable to expect next week will bring higher pricing from today’s levels.

Week-Ending Slaughter

The week’s estimated cattle slaughter was…